LOGINThe welcome party carried on long after the speeches ended, and before long the Pit had become louder than I had heard it in months. Empty bottles multiplied across the tables while laughter bounced from one corner of the bar to another. The jukebox blasted one song after another, and every person inside seemed determined to outshout the music. For a place that had been drowning beneath threats from Bishop and the constant shadow of the Feds, tonight almost felt… normal.Almost.Knox had somehow convinced Drex to sing along with every song that came on, despite neither of them knowing half the lyrics. The two of them stood on top of a chair near the center of the room, throwing their arms around each other’s shoulders as they screamed into invisible microphones. They were hopelessly off-key, but neither of them cared.“You sound like a dying goat!” Jett shouted over the music.Knox pointed dramatically at him.“I sound better than you ever will!”“You couldn’t carry a tune if someon
The atmosphere inside the Pit transformed completely once Knox and Drex got rid of the drunk fool who had thought it was a good idea to harass Ava.I watched from the entrance as the two of them dragged him outside without giving him the chance to protest. The idiot cursed and struggled all the way to the door, but neither Knox nor Drex looked even slightly bothered by it. They tossed him onto the gravel outside with enough force to make him stumble before Knox pointed a warning finger at him.“If you’re smart,” Knox said coldly, “you won’t come anywhere near this place again.”The man muttered something under his breath before disappearing into the darkness, rubbing at the spot between his legs where Ava had planted her kick.The heavy doors closed behind him, shutting out the noise from outside.Inside, conversations slowly resumed.Music continued to play.Laughter gradually returned.The tension that had settled over the room moments ago began to dissolve.My attention drifted bac
Evening settled over Greystone, the Pit no longer felt like the same place I had grown used to over the past few weeks. The usual scent of engine oil and grilled meat had been overtaken by perfume, cologne, roasted food, and expensive liquor. Music drifted faintly from downstairs, growing louder every few seconds as another motorcycle pulled into the parking lot outside.Even from Mara’s bedroom, I could hear the deep rumble of engines arriving one after another.Apparently, word had spread. The guests were coming.I sat quietly in front of Mara’s vanity mirror while she stood behind me, completely focused on my hair.“Hold still,” she complained, gently turning my head back into position. “You move too much.”“I’ve been sitting here for almost thirty minutes.”“And you can survive another five.”I sighed dramatically, earning a laugh from her.She held a curling iron against another section of my hair before letting the curl fall naturally over my shoulder.“There,” she said proudly.
The noise from the garage echoed faintly through the floorboards above, a steady rhythm of impact guns, clanking metal, and engines being stripped apart. It had become background music to the Pit, something I had grown accustomed to over the years. While the others buried themselves in grease and steel, I had work of my own.I shut the office door behind me before walking toward the large bookshelf against the wall.To anyone else, it looked ordinary.Shelves packed with old ledgers, motorcycle manuals, club records, and dusty novels no one had touched in years. But appearances were often the strongest form of camouflage.I reached beneath the bottom shelf and pressed two concealed latches in sequence.A soft click answered me.The bookshelf shifted barely an inch.I wrapped my fingers around its edge and pushed.The entire structure swung inward, revealing a narrow steel compartment hidden inside the wall.Cold air drifted from within.Metal cases sat neatly stacked from floor to cei
The atmosphere inside The Pit slowly returned to normal after the federal agents finally drove away. The tension that had settled over everyone while the officers searched the building gradually dissolved into familiar conversations, clinking glasses, and the sounds of men moving in and out of the garage. It was strange how quickly life resumed inside these walls. A few minutes earlier, everyone had been prepared for the worst. Now it almost felt as though nothing had happened at all.I stood behind the counter drying freshly washed glasses while Mara moved around the kitchen with her usual energy. Every now and then she would peek through the serving window just to grin at me before disappearing again.When she emerged carrying a bowl of sliced vegetables, she shook her head in amazement.“I still can’t believe you did that.”I looked up innocently. “Did what?”“Oh, don’t pretend.” She placed the bowl on the counter before pointing at me with the knife handle. “You seriously stood th
The chatter from the bar slowly faded behind me as I pushed open the door to my office. The room felt strangely quieter than usual, perhaps because my mind refused to settle after everything that had happened within the last hour. Mercer had walked away with nothing but suspicions, yet somehow it felt as though he had still won a small battle. He had succeeded in making us react, and men like him lived for such kind of reactions from men like us.That reaction of fear and failure. It filled their pride with satisfaction. And I was certain Mercer wasn’t intending on keeping the fact that my men and I had weapons under the carpet. Grim stepped inside after me, closing the door with a firm click before taking his usual seat opposite my desk. He leaned back in the chair with a long sigh, rubbing his beard thoughtfully while I remained standing by the window. From there I could see part of the garage hrough the glass panel, where Knox and the others had resumed their usual activities on







